Yearning For Warmth, Day and Night - Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Du Family
The next day, Wei Hui mentioned sending Twelve away, but before she could give the order, Pei Tian picked her up; something had come up at the company. Eleven had been on tenterhooks half the night, waking up with panda eyes. Twelve was pacing anxiously by the bed, and when she saw Eleven wake up, it immediately clung to her. Eleven had never had a dog before and didn’t know what was wrong with it. It wasn’t until she went to the bathroom to wash up that she realized Twelve probably needed to relieve itself. She quickly rinsed off and took Twelve downstairs.
In the yard, she didn’t dare let Twelve relieve itself just anywhere, so she waited until they were by the wall before unleashing Twelve.
Aunt Liu followed behind her, calling out, “Little Miss.”
Eleven turned, thinking Aunt Liu had come to take Twelve away. Reluctantly, she asked, “Did the Third Miss say where it’s going?”
Aunt Liu paused, “What?”
Eleven bit her lip: “Isn’t the dog being sent away?”
Aunt Liu smiled, “No, the Third Miss didn’t give any instructions.”
Eleven looked at Aunt Liu, puzzled: “She really didn’t say?”
Did she forget? Eleven held a tiny shred of hope, then heard Aunt Liu say, “The Third Miss was picked up by Assistant Pei early this morning. He said there was an urgent matter at the company.”
So that was it. Eleven’s tiny hope was dashed. Aunt Liu, with great interest, asked about Twelve: “Is this dog yours?”
Eleven shook her head: “I found it.”
Aunt Liu smiled: “It’s a purebred dog, Little Miss is so lucky.”
Eleven didn’t really know what a purebred dog was. She smiled at Aunt Liu’s words without a sound. She wasn’t lucky at all, unable to keep Twelve.
Twelve seemed to sense her bad mood. It rubbed its head against her trousers, then looked up at Eleven with its tongue out and black, round eyes, looking very well-behaved. The more Eleven looked at it, the more reluctant she was to give it away. She hugged Twelve and said, “Can I tie it in the backyard first?”
Aunt Liu nodded: “Of course you can, I’ll help you hold its leash.”
Eleven tugged on the leash: “I’ll hold it.”
Twelve followed her into the backyard. The backyard was large, with a big swimming pool, lush green lawn, and several stone paths. Trees were planted on both sides of the stone paths. Eleven had been here before and had glanced around from a distance.
Today’s weather was completely different from last night. The sky was clear, and the warm sunlight bathed her, adding a sense of warmth. Eleven walked to the furthest corner of the backyard, under a tree, and tied Twelve there, softly saying, “Will you be good and stay here?”
Twelve barked twice at her. Aunt Liu smiled, “Little Miss, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it.”
Eleven bowed her head: “Thank you.”
Aunt Liu extended a hand: “Let’s go back for breakfast.”
Eleven looked at Twelve reluctantly, then gritted her teeth and followed Aunt Liu back to the living room. Breakfast was already on the table. Although she was alone, it was very plentiful. As Eleven ate, she thought about being in Wei Hui’s room last night. When Wei Hui collapsed, she didn’t even have the strength to support her. She needed to eat more, eat more so she could grow stronger, and then she would be able to support Wei Hui and keep her from falling.
Later?
Eleven’s hand paused slightly while eating breakfast. Her beautiful eyes held a hint of confusion. Why was she thinking, later?
After breakfast, Aunt Liu brought her milk. Eleven finished it and, having nothing else to do, slipped back to the backyard. Twelve was gnawing on a bone. Eleven didn’t disturb it, simply sat on a nearby bench, watching Twelve. Wei Hui’s words from last night echoed in her ears, and the light in Eleven’s eyes slowly extinguished. She lay on the table, her eyes slightly closed.
At the company, Wei Hui sat in the conference room. Several shareholders in front of her were eloquently arguing: “One day idle is one day’s worth of money wasted. We can renovate and save funds, so why should we rebuild the amusement park?”
“Exactly, CEO Wei. Setting aside whether building an amusement park will be profitable, just consider the cost, isn’t it too high?”
“Renovation is so much better.”
Wei Hui looked at these old men. Usually, they just waited to collect dividends and rarely managed company affairs. Her decisions had never been so strongly opposed. No need to guess, someone must have fanned the flames behind the scenes. It seemed Luo Zhouping couldn’t cooperate with Shen Hao, so he started to stir up these old fellows. And he really found their weak spot; these people just wanted to make money but were reluctant to invest.
“CEO Wei, this plan isn’t something you can decide on your own. We all think renovation is better now.”
Luo Zhouping smiled, playing mediator: “Don’t rush, everyone. Sit down and let’s talk slowly. CEO Wei is still young after all, and her considerations might not be thorough. Let’s give her some time to think carefully.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Tian leaned close to Wei Hui and whispered, “Third Miss, Mr. Shen said he had something to do and couldn’t make it to the meeting.”
Wei Hui nodded: “Understood.”
After listening to Luo Zhouping and the shareholders perform their double act, she parted her lips: “How about this, let’s vote.”
“However, since Mr. Shen is not available today, let’s postpone the vote until the next board meeting. What do you all think?”
The directors looked at Luo Zhouping, exchanging glances. Luo Zhouping, with his foxy smile, said: “Of course, that’s fine. What do you all think?”
“That works too.”
“Then we’ll wait for the next board meeting.”
Wei Hui nodded: “Meeting adjourned.”
As Luo Zhouping left with the shareholders, Wei Hui’s expression finally darkened. Pei Tian stood beside her and said, “Vice President Luo seems to have won over quite a few shareholders.”
When he used to contend with Wei Changyuan for Wei Tian Group, he continuously fostered relationships. Back then, with the Old Master in charge, the shareholders wouldn’t side with him. But times were different now. Wei Hui had only been in office for a few years and was young. In their eyes, her work was not rigorous or mature enough. Most importantly, she was still a woman. Even though she had achieved great feats, in many people’s eyes, she was nothing special.
This led to many shareholders defecting. Wei Hui asked, “Where is Shen Hao?”
Pei Tian lowered his head: “He said—” he glanced at Wei Hui’s tense profile, and bit the bullet, “He said he’s waiting for you at the hotel.”
This was a threat to her.
Wei Hui nodded: “Is the Du family appointment set?”
Pei Tian replied: “Everything’s arranged. Old Master Du just returned and was quite pleased to hear you’re coming.”
She and Du Yue Ming were the same age, and they had visited each other’s homes as children. The Du and Wei families had a good relationship. When she was young, she often made tea and served water to Old Master Du, and when she first took office, she personally visited him, earning his favor. However, Old Master Du no longer held power in the Du family; Du Yue Han now managed most affairs.
Wei Hui stood up and said, “Since the Old Master is happy, let’s go early.”
Pei Tian was puzzled: “Now?”
Wei Hui nodded. Luo Zhouping and the shareholders were already pressuring her to make a decision, and Shen Hao’s side could defect at any moment. She was too lazy to deal with Shen Hao, so she could only start with the Du family. She said as she walked, “Get the car ready.”
Pei Tian called the driver, asking, “Are we going directly to the Du family’s residence?”
Wei Hui thought for a few seconds: “Let’s go home first.”
…
Back home, Wei Hui didn’t find Eleven in the living room or her room. Aunt Liu told her she was in the backyard. Wei Hui remembered the dog Eleven had brought back yesterday and nodded, instructing Pei Tian to get some documents from her study, then walked towards the backyard herself.
Before she even got close, she heard laughter.
Wei Hui paused, watching Eleven not far away, hugging the dog. Her face was radiant with a contented smile, her eyes like autumn water. This was a side of Eleven Wei Hui had never seen before. In her impression, Eleven had always been timid, weak, shy, and cautious. She hadn’t expected this child to laugh out loud, to be so joyous, to have a face like a peach blossom.
She felt her eyes light up, and for a long time, she couldn’t tear her gaze away, just staring intently. It was Eleven who sensed something behind her and turned around. Upon seeing Wei Hui, she immediately reined in her smile, stood up straight. Twelve, beside her, didn’t know what was wrong with her, suddenly stopped playing. It licked Eleven’s hand with its tongue, and pawed at Eleven’s shoes. Eleven took two steps forward and called out, “Third Miss.”
Gone was the bright smile from moments ago; Eleven had resumed her proper stance. Wei Hui, seeing her like this, lowered her gaze and said, “Go back and change, then come out with me.”
Eleven dared not ask more, following behind her without hesitation. As she was about to turn the corner, she secretly glanced back. Wei Hui walked beside her, clearly noticing her small gesture. She parted her lips: “Do you really like keeping dogs?”
Hearing her voice, Eleven looked up, meeting Wei Hui’s slightly cool gaze. She bit her lip and said, “Not exactly.”
“It’s just that I feel like it and I are very similar, both without a home.”
She finished speaking, her head bowed, her expression forlorn, her eyes dull. Wei Hui didn’t know what she was thinking, but after hearing her words, she felt a moment of discomfort. She couldn’t help but turn to look at Twelve, seeing the dog tilting its head to look this way, its eyes darting around. She lowered her gaze and led Eleven inside.
…
Back in the living room, Eleven went upstairs to change and do her makeup. She still remembered the sequence Wei Hui had taught her yesterday; applying makeup wasn’t difficult, the challenge was remembering so many bottles and jars and not mixing them up. After about half an hour of fussing, Eleven came downstairs. Wei Hui was sitting on the sofa, watching her. With light makeup, Eleven’s features looked even prettier, her eyes bright and intelligent, her lips red, and her teeth white.
Eleven wore a light-colored long dress, which, upon closer inspection, matched the color of Wei Hui’s clothes. Standing together, the two looked quite like a perfect pair. Pei Tian watched Eleven, who had initially entered the Wei family home with slumped shoulders and a meek voice, now standing tall and straight beside Wei Hui. Aside from her slender frame and still developing demeanor, there was nothing else to fault, especially her face, which was refined and very beautiful.
“Is the car ready?” Wei Hui’s clear, cold voice interrupted Pei Tian’s thoughts. He replied, “All ready.”
Wei Hui glanced at Eleven: “Get in the car.”
Eleven, wearing flat shoes, followed behind her. Not long after getting in the car, Wei Hui leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes to rest. She hadn’t rested well last night, and there were faint dark circles under her eyes. Eleven didn’t disturb her, still leaning by the window. When she was idle, unlike today’s youth who liked to hug their phones, she just stared fixedly out the window, not making a sound. When Wei Hui opened her eyes, she saw Eleven’s profile facing her, lost in thought, her eyes slightly vacant. She remembered Eleven’s dull eyes, and how she had softly said that the dog and she were alike, both homeless, and frowned. As she closed her eyes again, she said, “If you want to keep it, then keep it.”
Eleven was startled for a few seconds by the sudden voice near her ear. Then, when she understood what Wei Hui had said, she immediately turned around, her vacant eyes now filled with light, sparkling and shimmering as if with ripples of water. She excitedly asked, “Third Miss, do you agree?”
Wei Hui still had her arms crossed, her expression cold: “Mm, just manage it well.”
Eleven nodded repeatedly: “I will manage it well!” She excitedly wanted to grab Wei Hui’s arm, but halfway there, she felt it was inappropriate and slowly retracted it. Her voice filled with a smile: “Third Miss, you are so kind.”
Pei Tian, hearing this, suspiciously glanced in the rear-view mirror, almost swerving the steering wheel.
The Du family residence was not far from the Wei family, about a fifteen-minute drive. Wei Hui closed her eyes and had just rested for a short while when she heard Pei Tian say, “Third Miss, we’ve arrived.”
The gate was wide open, and the black car slowly drove in. After Pei Tian got out, he opened the back car door. Wei Hui stepped out in her high heels, seeing the Du family’s butler standing beside her, respectfully saying, “CEO Wei, please come in.”
Wei Hui nodded slightly, glanced at Eleven and Pei Tian, and walked inside.
The living room was large and luxuriously decorated. Unlike the cold feeling of the Wei family home, this place exuded a sense of wealth everywhere. Upon entering the foyer, they saw a huge television, half the size of a wall, currently playing a variety show. The living room was filled with laughter from the TV. Eleven followed behind Wei Hui and heard her call out to the person on the sofa, “Grandpa Du.”
The person on the sofa turned around. Although well-preserved, he still showed signs of old age, with slightly graying temples and deep wrinkles on his forehead. He smiled: “San’er has come?”
His voice was booming, and his smile conveyed a sense of amiability. Wei Hui took two steps forward, seeing Old Master Du stand up. She parted her lips: “Grandpa Du, how is your health?”
“Getting old.” Old Master Du waved his hand: “Useless now. Are you here for Yue Han?”
“Go call Yue Han out.”
The butler nodded: “Yes, Old Master.”
Old Master Du looked at Wei Hui with a beaming smile: “It’s been two years since we last met. You’ve grown even more beautiful, my child.”
He finished speaking and looked at the girl behind Wei Hui: “And this little friend is?”
Wei Hui saw Du Yue Han already stepping halfway out from around the corner. She smiled, took Eleven’s hand, and said to Old Master Du, “She’s my little friend.”